West Highland Museum is hosting its “Camanachd: Geama Aosda nan Gleann Abrach” (Shinty: Ancient Game of the Lochaber Glens) exhibition this autumn. In this third of a series of blogs, shinty expert and broadcaster Dr Hugh Dan MacLennnan explores the history of Kilmallie Shinty Club.
Kilmallie Shinty Club, currently based at Canal Parks, in Caol, was founded in 1929 and is named after the parish of Kilmallie within which the team plays. The original office bearers were the following – Chairman, James Weir; Secretary, James A. Macintyre; Committee Members, Alistair Mackintosh and Hugh MacNaughton. From 1929 to 1970 games were played at Annat (believed to be from the Gaelic “anait” – mother church) and then at Black Parks, Inverlochy. The club colours are royal blue shirts with white shorts. They were originally given a pitch at Corpach by James Weir of Annat Farm, where games took place until the pulp and paper mill opened in the 1960s and they relocated to Canal Parks in Caol.
The club owes a great deal to Mr Weir of Annat Farm who did so much for it in the early days by providing the field and encouraging young players.
The club’s formation was described in a newspaper article in 1948 as follows: “ ….. two boys in their early teens arrived in Corpach, a village of about 200 inhabitants, in western Inverness-shire. One of the boys came from Onich and the other from Kilchoan. They went to the local wood and cut and shaped two shinty clubs. A ball was made out of cork, wool from old socks and odd pieces of fine string sewn into the ball with a large darning needle. Their game of shinty appealed to a few of the local boys in the village. Soon games of two, three and four a-side were being played. At last the great day came when twelve boys were playing. A team was formed.
In the early days, the team played against Nether Lochaber and Spean Bridge. Victories were few and far between, but Mr Weir and a few faithful followers were still there with their kindnesses, encouragement and advice.
It was a great day in 1939 when the team went through to play in the final of the Sutherland Cup at Newtonmore against Lochcarron. This Cup was given by the late Sir William Sutherland to the Camanachd Association for competition among junior teams throughout Scotland. And here was the team started by two little boys, Jimmy and Tommy, in 1930, into the junior cup final. In a ding-dong game, they were beaten by 5 goals to 4. But the main thing was that they had put the name of Kilmallie on the shinty map.
The eventual arrival of Mr. Walter P Cameron as headmaster at Banavie helped to maintain interest among boys in the district, even during the years of World War II. The young players cut clubs in the woods and they cut straight sticks and bent them with steam or over a fire. The youngsters don’t stop playing. The headmaster encouraged the boys in their game and the success of the juvenile team in the 1950’s showed that his support and training was of great value in providing a succession of young players to fill vacancies in the senior team. He went on to become a distinguished President of the Camanachd Association. Dick Cameron was another who helped greatly over the years.
The club has never folded or amalgamated with another club. The late 1950s and 1960s were Kilmallie’s greatest period and they appeared in five Camanachd cup finals between 1959 and 1967. Having won the MacGillivray Senior League in 1959 and 1960 (when they had the legendary “Stonewall” defence), the club won the Camanachd Cup in 1964 against Inveraray in King George V Park in Fort William but then fell on relatively difficult times, falling as low as North Division Four.
The club slowly made progress from this low ebb by a concentration on youth policy and they climbed the leagues and reached the Premier Division. The club then reached the Camanachd Cup Final in 2005 where they were defeated 3–2 by Fort William Shinty Club at An Aird, Fort William, in one of the closest and exciting finals for many years.
Whilst 2007 saw the first team’s top-flight status come to an end despite a late season rally, the second team gained a revenge of sorts for the Camanachd Cup in 2005 by defeating Fort William in the Sutherland Cup Final on 17 August 2007 in Oban and also won the Strathdearn Cup the same year. The club finished second in North Division One in 2008 and 2009. The club won North Division One in 2010 and 2013. New league structuring by the Camanachd Association prevented Kilmallie being promoted in 2013 and the club
appearing in the National Division looking for promotion to the Premier League yet again. They were denied promotion again, but this time on the park, in 2015, when after a ten-week lay-off they faced Kingussie in a promotion-relegation play-off. They were defeated 2–0. The club went on to win National Division One in strong style in 2016.
Kilmallie has had a number of cup successes over the years including 1948 when both Sutherland and Strathdearn Cups were won the year after a famous MacTavish Juvenile cup win; the Camanachd Cup in 1964, the MacTavish Cup in 1959,1961,1967 and 1969, and the Balliemore Cup in 1992, 1993 and 2016.
Notable servants of the club include Alastair MacIntyre who became Chairman and was the Camanachd Association’s first full-time official, referees (and former players) Jimmy Chisholm, Charlie Fraser and Hugh MacIntyre, along with many others.
An article by `Hail Judge’ in the Northern Chronicle in 1948 (January 7) touches on the fine sporting spirit of the club.
The “Camanachd: Geama Aosda nan Gleann Abrach” (Shinty: Ancient Game of the Lochaber Glens) exhibition will be hosted at West Highland Museum from 2nd September until 31st October 2024.